


Like somethin' is brewin' and bout to begin...

by StrawberryLane



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Credence's returning to New York after five years, Crushes, Five Years Later, Fluff, Love, M/M, first dates?, implied alcoholic Graves, it's literally just fluff, seeing each other for the first time in five years, wedding invitations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 11:57:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9895496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawberryLane/pseuds/StrawberryLane
Summary: Credence's busy standing stock still, staring at the fifth person in the room, the person who is still standing bent over the map on Tina's desk, the director himself.Credence hasn't seen Percival Graves, or rather, his face, in five long years.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on [this](http://fantasticbeasts-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/1184.html?thread=1171360#cmt1171360) prompt from the kinkmeme. 
> 
> The title is a line from the Mary Poppins song chim chim cher-ee (in this case, it's the version done by Colin Farrell in Saving Mr Banks).
> 
> [This](http://68.media.tumblr.com/80c0b814a72aa7274ff43f1d4c3aa3f6/tumblr_nqxyflUsrZ1r6x04do1_250.gif) is how Credence looks in this and [this](http://img.cinemablend.com/cb/f/5/a/1/b/9/f5a1b98a16155322499ee42eef3b8bb61f600c767168678a6ea8fa0e69e12638.jpg) is how Graves looks, except he doesn't have the mustache, because I can't see Percival Graves ever sporting a mustache if it isn't in some kind of undercover type of situation.

Clutching the railing with both hands, Credence stares wide-eyed as New York City towers over him and the tiny British passenger liner he's currently on. The RMS Victoria is actually quite large, it just seems so much smaller when the shadow of an entire city is looming over it.

Credence hasn't been home in close to five years. After the whole disaster that was December 1926, with the obscurus breaking free and the Magical Congress of the United States of America trying their best to kill him, he had fled the country. Getting on the same ship as Newt Scamander, the wizard who'd tried to help him had been a lucky accident. Newt had, for the lack of better words, taken Credence under his wing and together they'd traveled all over Europe and Asia while Newt was writing his book and taught Credence the wonders of magic. Now, five years and a whole lot of growing and changing as a person later, they're back in New York. The reason?

Newton Artemis Fido "Newt" Scamander is getting married to Porpentina Esther "Tina" Goldstein. The wedding has been in the planning stages for the past year and a half, ever since Newt proposed on top of the Eiffel Tower, and now it's finally happening. A week from now, Credence is going to have to refer to Miss Goldstein as Mrs Scamander, and honestly, he's excited for the wedding.

He's less excited about actually returning to the city of his childhood, mostly because of all the bad memories it brings back. New York is a wonderful city all on its own, but it was still the home of Mary Lou, and Mary Lou brings back bad memories, even if she's been dead for years.

Credence knows she's dead, because he killed her. His guilt over her death is something he's been struggling to accept and understand, even if Newt has repeatedly told him that it's all right to mourn and feel remorse for his actions. For all the ways that she was a horrible person, Mary Lou was his mother, and there's no need to act as if she never existed, never had any impact on who Credence is as a person.

"Ready?" Newt asks, appearing next to Credence, leaning against the railing. The older man is the picture of excited happiness, his face the face of a man who can't wait to hold his fiancee in his arms again and twirl her around.

"As I'll ever be," Credence murmurs, trying to squash the turmoil of feelings whirling around inside his tummy.

*

They need to visit the MACUSA offices first, Newt tells him, both because they need to get permits for their wands – The USA are much more strict than the rest of the world when it comes to wand control – and because Tina, who was supposed to meet them, has been held up at work. Juggling their suitcases and Newt's special case, which he can't resist to bring with him, despite the chaos it caused last time, they head for the closest subway entrance.

Credence has never been inside MACUSA's headquarters and has to force himself not to stare at everything when they're escorted to the wand office by a surly looking elf. The ceiling is just so _high_ and the room so _large_. The wand permit office is below the ground level, and much more dark and weirdly comfortable than the extravagant glamor of the public floors. The familiar blonde woman sat at the desk, looking bored, lights up when she notices Newt's and Credence's approach.

"Well, well, well," says Queenie Goldstein, standing up to hug both of them close, "if it ain't my boys. Welcome back, both of you."

"Where's Tina?" Newt asks once Queenie let's them go to begin the process of registering their wands.

"So impatient, honey," she laughs, handing Credence back his wand and the permit to go with it. "She's in her office, with the director. As I'm sure you know, something came up, nothing serious, but Mr Graves wanted her opinion on whatever it was. Come on, I'll take to her."

Queenie leads them through a myriad of corridors, stairs and elevators, until Credence no longer knows which way is up and which is down. Queenie comes to a stop in front of an impressive looking oak door, with a golden plaque that says "Auror Porpentina Goldstein" on it in cursive letters. Knocking once on the door, Queenie opens it with a flourish, without waiting for the customary response from the other side of it. She steps aside, allowing Newt and Credence to step inside the office. Tina, seated at her desk, looks up from the map she was pouring over, and, at the sight of her fiance, rises from her chair and flings herself at Newt, wrapping her arms around him, laughing.

Credence hardly notices any of this. He's busy standing stock still staring at the fifth person in the room, the person who is still standing bent over the map on Tina's desk, the director himself.

Credence hasn't seen Percival Graves, or rather, his face, in five long years.

*

Percival straightens up from where he's been standing looking at an incredibly detailed map of Texas, staring at the young man who's staring straight back at him from the other side of Tina's office.

The young man is no one other than Credence Barebone, Percival realizes with a start. He looks different, so much so that if it wasn't for those brown eyes and sharper than ever before cheekbones, Percival probably wouldn't even realize they were the same person. The Credence he remembers, still thinks about at times, had been a hunched over, uncertain, scared boy with an unfortunate haircut that did nothing for him at all and threadbare, thin clothes, even in the cold months of the fall. This boy – no, young man, – is standing straight and tall, holding himself with ease. His face bears no trace of fear, only a touch of confusion as he stares at Percival. His hair, no longer forced into that, quite honestly, hideous bowl cut from five years ago, is falling in soft, full waves around his face, stopping just past his jaw. Thanks to someone, probably Scamander, Credence is sporting a sensible dark gray coat and black wool trousers. The coat is open, as it is rather warm inside Macusa's offices at all times, revealing a glimpse of a dark red vest and a white dress shirt.

The boy is, simply put, gorgeous.

Becoming aware of the silence in the room, Percival clears his throat awkwardly and crosses the room. Doing so places him in front of Credence, who's watching him with a look of quiet reservation. Percival can't fault the boy – Gellert Grindelwald did a number on both of them, after all.

"Credence," he says, fully aware that the other three people in the room are not even trying to pretend they're not openly staring at him and the boy.

"Mister Graves," Credence replies and bows his head. It's not, as Percival first fears, anything submissive about the bow, only a way of being polite.

"How have you been, all these years? I've been meaning-" Percival cuts himself off. After being saved from his captivity, he has thought again and again that he should reach out, ask how Credence is coping, how he's doing. But he'd put it off, time after time, because what do you say to someone who's been so severely manipulated and poorly treated by someone wearing your own face? _"I'm so sorry?"_

"I've been good," Credence tells him, quietly. "Newt's been teaching me how to... how to control my magic and how to take of his creatures."

Credence has turned out to be, as Percival has learnt from not so secretly eavesdropping on Tina, incredibly powerful. So powerful, in fact, that he had problems actually controlling his magic force back when Newt first begun training him. There had been a few hilarious disasters, such as Credence getting the entirety of a kitchen, including the stove, when he'd first cast accio.

"That's good to hear," Percival hears his own voice roughly tell the younger man. He falls silent after that – small talk has never been his strong suit. Credence shifts, probably feeling awkward as well. They're practically strangers, after all. Their relationship, or whatever you want to call it, hadn't even gotten properly off the ground before Grindelwald had arrived at the scene, fucking everything up so very spectacularly.

*

Credence had been hoping to avoid this. He'd thought he could come to New York, to Newt and Tina's wedding and even to Macusa's offices without running into Percival Graves. Not ever seeing the other man again would have been the preferred alternative, really. Before, during the last five year, Mr Graves has been nothing but a dream, someone Credence once knew, someone who existed somewhere in the world, but not someone Credence had actual interactions with. But seeing the man again brings back the memories, both good and bad, brutally fast and the heavy nervousness in Credence's stomach quickly confirms his suspicions. His crush, his so very ill advised, silly and serious crush on the older man is back, in full force.

Or it never went away. It's difficult to say.

Mr Graves looks as handsome as ever. His hair is much grayer than the last time Credence saw him – or Grindelwald, wearing his face – and he certainly looks older, but the fact that man is handsome is still up front and center for anyone to see.

Credence averts his eyes, about to blurt out just about anything to keep the silence from becoming awful, when Newt steps in and invites Percival to join them for dinner, seemingly on a whim.

They end up at a popular wizarding restaurant just off Times Square. It's intimate and cozy, clearly better suited for loved up couples than a party of five. The waiters bring two tables together, as accommodating as waiting staff could ever be. Once seated, Credence finds himself next to Mr Graves, something that makes his cheeks heat up, especially when he notices they're sitting so close together their legs are almost touching.

Queenie is smiling at him from across the table, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Credence glares at her, to no avail.

*

He ends up next to Credence at dinner. When Scamander invited him, he'd thought about declining, coming up with some bullshit excuse as to why he couldn't attend – paperwork, most likely – but something had made him say yes. Well, he knows what made him say yes. Credence is sitting right next to him, so very close. The boy is looking a little red in the face already, even though he hasn't even touched the glass in front of him. Percival, who knows he'll need liquid courage to get through the evening, downs his first two glasses before the appetizer is even on the table.

Tina and Scamander are talking about their upcoming wedding, one which Percival has in fact got an invitation to, but he has yet to confirm his attendance. The card said he's welcome to bring a plus one if he wants to, as if everyone doesn't already know that Percival Graves has no one to bring anywhere. Sometimes, he thinks, it is as if Grindelwald's impersonation of him taught him nothing. No, instead of becoming more social, actually getting to know people, seeing his family, cutting down on his working hours, you know, actually doing things that could prevent any such impersonation from happening ever again, Percival has, if possible, become even more of a workaholic hermit than before.

No one realizing that he'd been replaced by Gellert Grindelwald hurt a lot, cut more deeply than Percival is ever going to admit. People he'd worked with for over ten years not seeing any difference – Percival still doesn’t want to think about what that could actually mean.

It's not him who needs changing, he thinks, darkly, downing yet another glass of the blood red wine.

*

Mr Graves is getting.... well, not drunk, precisely, but tipsy. He's been steadily drinking from the never ending bottle of wine since they sat down, and he shows no signs of stopping any time soon.

He actually sways a little when he gets up from his seat once their dinner's come to an end. Credence is... well, he wouldn't say he feels embarrassed for the other man, just that he's slightly apprehensive about what the man might do, and later regret, in his intoxicated manner. Queenie though, just shakes her head with a small laugh at the thought, so Credence figures he won't need to worry too much.

Once they've all made their way outside and stand huddling on the sidewalk, Credence offers, quite pleased with himself for coming up with the idea, to see that Mr Graves makes it home in one piece. "I could use a walk anyway," he tells Newt when the other man opens his mouth to say something. "I haven't been here for years and aren't you the one who always tells me I should face my fears?"

Newt closes his mouth at that, whatever argument against Credence wandering around New York City alone at night dying on his lips.

"Besides," Credence assures him, "I've got Mr Graves with me. I'll be fine."

*

He is fine. More than fine. After saying goodbye to the others outside of the restaurant, Credence and Mr Graves had begun their slow, perhaps a little too slow, walk towards the apartment Mr Graves has apparently been renting these past few years. Once they get to the block, Mr Graves had, in a somewhat surprising turn of events, invited Credence up for coffee. And to apologize, apparently.

They are sitting the man's sparsely furnished living room, and something tells Credence Mr Graves doesn't spend a lot of time in his own home. A bunch of opened mail is laying around on the coffee table, one wedding invitation to Newt's and Tina's wedding peeking out from underneath a letter with MACUSA's official stamp on it.

Mr Graves, who begun sobering up during their walk, sips on his cup of black coffee, and tells Credence, for perhaps the fifth time, "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Mr Graves," Credence patiently tells him, for what is also the fifth time. "What Grindelwald did to me has nothing to do with you. He just happened to be wearing your face at the time."

"Still..."

"No. I refuse to speak of this anymore. What's happened happened, it's all in the past. In fact, it did bring so many positive things into my life I should probably thank the man."

Mr Graves makes a grunting noise at that. Credence chooses to believe this means the man agrees.

"I hope you forgive me for snooping, Mr Graves, but I noticed you got an invitation to Newt and Tina's wedding?"

"That's right," replies Mr Graves and takes another sip of scalding hot coffee. "I haven't decided if I should go yet," he confesses, voice rough.

"This... this might be too forward of me, but would you like to go with me?"

"With you?" Mr Graves looks confused.

"Yes... As my... plus one?" The last words are stuttered out, Credence losing his confidence halfway through. Suddenly, this seems like a terrible idea. What on earth was he thinking, asking a man he hasn't seen in half a decade and doesn't even know all that well to be his plus one to a bloody wedding?

"I'd love too, Credence. But just to make sure, will this be a date?"

"Yes? I mean, if you want it to? Because if you don't then it doesn't-"

"I absolutely want it to be an actual date, Credence."

Credence is sure he looks absolutely ridiculous, grinning the way he is. But he doesn't care, because Mr Graves is sporting a grin just as goofy.

Happiness, Credence decides, looks infinitely much better on the man's face than that professional, stern look he usually sports.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it!


End file.
